Wolf Pack
by Dragonflysoul
Summary: Summary: Suffering from a head injury, MacGyver has trouble remembering and understanding why Jack isn't around. A/N: I've read a few fics where Jack Skypes in weekly, and I thought-what if he calls in and MacGyver is not in the shape that he left him.


Title: Wolf Pack

Author: dragonfly

Categories: h/c, team as family, co-dependency, bromance, head injury, amnesia, fever

Warnings: Spoilers post 3x14

Characters: MacGyver, Bozer, Riley, Jack, Matty

Rating: K

Summary: Suffering from a head injury, MacGyver has trouble remembering and understanding why Jack isn't around.

A/N: I've read a few fics where Jack Skypes in weekly, and I thought-what if he calls in and MacGyver is not in the shape that he left him.

A/N2: I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV.

*M*

"Sooo, which one of us is gonna take the call?"

Standing at the kitchen island with MacGyver's laptop between them, Bozer glanced at Riley nervously. "Not it," they exclaimed in unison. Neither wanted to be the one to tell Jack that MacGyver had been injured on their latest mission. They didn't want him to know that he wasn't sleeping, that he had been having nightmares.

"Maybe he won't call again," Bozer suggested, but then his eyes widened as fear gripped him.

"What if he doesn't?" Riley echoed the worry.

He didn't last week, and though Jack's weekly call-ins were never guaranteed, or on time, MacGyver had taken the lack of call hard this time. He had tried to hide it; the worry, but they could see the glaring toll that it was taking on him. Then he was injured and had been very, very confused ever since. And as if that wasn't enough; he was getting sick.

Bozer shook his head, refusing to believe anything bad had happened to Jack. "No, he'll call."

Riley nodded. "You're right. He's fine. He has to be fine."

"And after Mac finally talks to him, he'll sleep. For real." Currently whatever sleep he got was when he passed out from exhaustion-after fighting it every step of the way. Then he'd wake up from a nightmare and the cycle would start again. They were hoping Jack's voice would help break that cycle…even though they dreaded telling him; knowing it would be hard for him to hear being so far away.

They both yawned and Bozer dragged a weary hand down the middle of his face. "Man, I don't know about you, but I could use a few winks myself."

"Tell me about it. I had no idea how much work a concussed and sick MacGyver could be."

Bozer grunted in agreement. "While I don't have much experience with a concussed Mac, I can tell you that my mom used to make me sit on his sick ass when we were kids to get him to rest. Poor guy gets so wired when he's first coming down with something, and __especially __when he's on cold meds."

"That why you nearly tackled me when I went to give him some?"

"Trust me, this past day is __nothing__ compared to one Angus MacGyver on DayQuil."

Riley canted her head to the side. "Noted."

MacGyver appeared in the hallway then looking his usual as of late: lost and confused. Hair askew and dressed in sweatpants and a sweatshirt he shuffled towards them, absently rubbing his injured side. Most of the bruises were hidden under his clothes, except for the one along the entire left side of his face where a small bandage also covered a deep laceration above his temple.

"Hey, Mac what are you doing up?" Bozer asked softly, walking over to slip a hand under his elbow in case he lost his balance or sneezed again. The last time he sneezed, he ended up on the floor clutching his head and curled around himself. "You hungry?" They hadn't been able to get much into him.

MacGyver swayed into Bozer as he pressed his palms into his eyes. "I, uh…I can't find him."

"Mac," Bozer rubbed a hand across trembling shoulders, "Jack's on a mission, remember?" They had reminded him so many times, but with the head injury, fever, Jack missing the last call in, and MacGyver waking to __them __instead of his Overwatch at the hospital…Well, his big bruised brain was experiencing some serious hiccups.

"Mission?" Brow pinched in thought, MacGyver hugged himself as a shiver tore through him. His voice was softer than usual. Bozer wasn't sure if it was due to his headache, or sore throat.

"Yeah, Mac he's been on one for over a month now," Riley reminded him gently.

Bozer pressed his hand against MacGyver's forehead. The fact that he didn't bat it away was testimony enough to how he was feeling. "Damn, I think your fever's up. You think you can make it to the couch while I fetch you some Tylenol?"

Persistent frown deepening, MacGyver wordlessly wandered into the living room rubbing his injured shoulder this time.

"I swear to God," Riley muttered softly," if he doesn't stop looking like a lost puppy soon, we're taking him back to medical."

"Agreed."

They startled and shared both hopeful and dreaded looks when MacGyver's laptop rang.

"You get Jack, I'll round up Mr. Daze and Confused," Bozer told her after grabbing the fever-reducer. It was really the only thing they could give him-considering his concussion and how he reacted to drugs in general. Hopefully it would help ease some of the pain he was experiencing along with the fever.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded and clicked the 'accept' button for the video call.

_"___Ri! Hey, honey!"__

"Hi, Jack!" She matched his pleased smile, happy and relieved to see him in one piece. "We missed you last week."

_"___Yeah, sorry about that."__

"How's the mission going?"

His gaze darted around her, searching. _"___Oh, you know, same ol…"__ He trailed off and Riley could practically __feel __his spidey senses tingling as his eyes fixed back on her. _"___What's wrong? Where's Mac?" __

"He's here… he's…" she hesitated.

_"___Ri, you get him in front of this screen right now." __

Swallowing hard, she nodded and straightened up from the kitchen island with the laptop. Turning it around, she walked towards the fireplace where Bozer had just gotten MacGyver to swallow pills for the fever and was trying to convince him to at least sit down.

"I have to find Jack," MacGyver countered, sounding miserable, but resolute as he hugged himself and rubbed his red-rimmed eyes.

_"___You guys are gonna tell me everything once I get him down,"__ Jack warned softly.

She nodded, despite him being unable to see her.

_"___Hey, Mac?"__ Though his voice was a little louder, it was equally as gentle.

MacGyver's head immediately came up at the sound of his voice. "Jack?"

Riley walked closer with the laptop. "__Yeah, its me, kiddo. You okay? You look like you could use a nap, man." __

His eyes found Jack's on the screen and he swayed where he stood. Bozer wrapped an arm around his back, steadying him. "All right?" MacGyver's voice trembled with relief as his fingers touched the screen next to his Overwatch's face.

_"___Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, bud," __Jack answered with tears bright in his eyes. "__Pretty damn worried about you, though." __

Frowning, MacGyver's brow furrowed. "Head hurts."

_"___Considering the colors you're rockin' on that face of yours, hoss, I can't say that I'm surprised."__ He looked over at Bozer. _"___Concussion?" __

"Yeah, and a __severe __one at that." He took MacGyver's preoccupation with Jack as an opportunity to guide him over to the couch. Riley followed closely with the laptop and placed it on the makeshift coffee table once Bozer had him sitting. "Honestly, he shouldn't even be looking at the screen right now."

"Let alone walking around like he's trying out for one of your zombie movies," Jack added unhappily.

"He won't rest, Jack. Not for long. We've tried everything short of drugging him," Riley explained. "Which is __not__ recommended for someone in his condition, by the way."

_"___Comin' down with somethin'?"__

Unsurprised that he noticed, "Yeah," Bozer answered. "He just took some Tylenol, so if he can keep that down, hopefully the fever will follow."

Taking in the information, Jack nodded as his eyes raked over the damage he could see; and some __only he__ could see. "__Nightmares?" __It was more of a statement than an actual question.

Riley and Bozer shared a look. "You could say that."

MacGyver had grown quiet, slouched on the couch and hugging himself through the chills. If he were feeling like himself, he would have been glaring at them all for talking about him as if he weren't in the room.

_"___What's going on in that head of yours, bud?"__

He dropped his gaze. He looked troubled. He looked confused. He rubbed a knuckle across his brow. "I just-I don't remember…"

"__What?"__

"Why," he took and released a shaky breath, "why I'm not with you."

There were tears in MacGyver's eyes as he waited for an explanation. It reminded Bozer of a time when a confused and heartbroken ten-year-old sat silently on his porch for hours after learning that his father had abandoned him. "We needed you here, Mac," he quickly explained, unable to bear that look again. "That's all."

_"___That's right, hoss." __Jack's voice sounded strained-like the breath had just been knocked out of him. _"___Our missions just went in separate directions this time, man."__

MacGyver looked like he did when he was mulling over a particularly troublesome puzzle he couldn't figure out. Grimacing, he pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. "You're…you're okay?" he asked Jack again.

_"___Yeah, kid,"__ Jack assured. _"___I'm good. You wanna tell me how you got to be looking like a rainbow?"__

MacGyver looked up at Bozer and Riley with panic in his eyes.

"Uh," Riley dropped down next to MacGyver on the couch so Jack could see her, "there was a bomb…incident."

"But he still has all of his fingers and toes," Bozer was quick to add, sitting down pressed up against MacGyver's other side.

Turning his palms up, MacGyver looked down at his fingers. "There were people," he murmured quietly as memory filtered in.

Bozer and Riley exchanged worried looks, almost hoping his memory stopped there. He had tried to save them, tried so hard.

MacGyver squeezed his eyes shut as if trying to force unwanted thoughts away. "Jack?"

_"___Right here, bud." __

"Are you-" he rubbed his fingers back and forth across his forehead, "where are you? Are you coming home?"

With tears threatening to spill, and regret in his voice, _"___Just as soon as I can, kid, I'll be home, all right? Promise." __He looked like he would have given anything to reach out to him; to rub his shoulder, to squeeze the back of his neck.

Dropping his hand, MacGyver curled up against Bozer's warmth. "Bozer made soup," he enticed sleepily, still not completely grasping where Jack was and what he was doing.

Swallowing back his own pain, Jack gave him a doting smile. _"___Did he now? Is this his grandma's famous cure-all chicken noodle soup?" __

"You know it," Bozer answered for him lightly. He could feel his friend growing heavier against him; finally, __finally__ relaxing. "I just wish I could get him to eat it. He's been too nauseated."

_"___Try warm lemon water and honey,"__ Jack suggested.

"Really? How-"

_"___Uh, yeah, I made tea for Mac once post-concussion and I, uh, forgot the tea. Worked like a charm, though."__

Bozer nodded, impressed. He'd try it, for sure. He'd try anything to help MacGyver feel better.

MacGyver's eyes fluttered open briefly, searching. "Jack," he called groggily.

_"___I'm here, Mac," __he returned steadily.

Humming, he relaxed more into Bozer. They thought he was finally out, until he called for Jack again. It was then they realized that MacGyver just wanted, __needed__ to hear his voice; to be reminded that he was there and okay.

It took Jack a moment to speak past the lump that undoubtedly formed in the back of his throat. _"___I'm here, kid. I'm right here."__

With a sigh of content, MacGyver murmured something before finally drifting off to sleep.

Jack smiled even as fresh tears filled his eyes. _"___I miss you too, buddy." __

Brushing a tear from her cheek, Riley adjusted the blanket over MacGyver as Bozer breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Jack."

He nodded. "__Hey, uh," __he cleared his throat as he struggled for something else to say, to keep providing the comfort his boy needed even while he slept, "__did I ever tell you about the time Nana Beth rode a bull for seventy-six seconds?"__

Bozer and Riley raised their eyebrows at him as they got comfortable and spread the blanket across all three of their laps.

_"___Well, it was a mechanical bull and she was in her twenties, but her record still stands at 'Billy Joe's…."__

*M*

Matty was somewhat surprised when she let herself in to find her number one team curled up in a pile asleep on the couch…that is until she heard Jack's voice coming from MacGyver's laptop droning on about Texan BBQs.

Shaking her head, she smiled.

_"___Matty, that you?"__ Jack called softly.

Walking over, she turned the laptop just slightly towards her. "Remind me to give you a call next time I can't get my niece to go to sleep." She smiled warmly at him.

"Any time, boss lady." He winked at her. "Any time." He gestured with his head at the three asleep on the couch. _"___How are they? Really."__

"They miss you, Jack,"she told him honestly, following his gaze. Then turning back to him, added. "But you'd be proud."

_"___Mac?"__ He knew the kid well.

Taking a moment to consider and choose her words, she nodded. "He's a little off," she admitted. "Not so much that I felt the need to bench him…before this."

_"___Riley mentioned an explosion." __

"An IED," she nodded. "Mac saved __a lot__ of people…but we also lost some," she told him regretfully.

_"___Desi?"__

"Is good, but not you, Jack. She knows how to fight, I'll give you that. But she doesn't know Mac…not like you do. But honestly, I'm not sure even you could have prevented this one."

As he let that sink in, he scratched the back of his head. _"___His birthday's tomorrow. I'm thinking with that scrambled brain of his he thought-"__

"That you weren't coming back,_"_ she surmised softly.

_"___Yeah,__" Jack rasped. The scars James left behind on his boy still had a habit of resurfacing.

Sensing there was something more, she narrowed her eyes on him. _"_Everything okay, Jack?"

Looking almost guilty, he raised an arm he'd been keeping out of view. It was bandaged. _"___We ran into a bit of trouble; took us awhile to get back. We literally just rolled in when I called. I knew, I'm tellin' ya, I just __**__**knew **__**__something bad had happened." __

"Well, it appears that you're not the only one with spidey senses. I think Mac's have been going off since before you missed the last call-in."

_"___Yeah, well do me a favor and don't mention this," __he held up his injured arm again, "__or even spidey senses in general. Last time I brought them up, I got a speech about Quantum…I don't even know; something about particles mingling. I'm afraid it'll be too much for that big, rattled brain of his right now. Speaking of…and be honest, how bad is it?"__

She didn't want to lie. "We're monitoring him closely. He has another scan and follow up the day after tomorrow."

He leaned towards the screen._ "___Matty-" __

She held up a hand, forestalling the worry. "He's healing to the doctor's satisfaction. It's just going to take some time before he's thinking in circles around us again."

His jaw clenched and she imagined him doing the same with his fists. She knew he hated being so far away, hated feeling so helpless. "He's in good hands, Jack."

He sighed. _"___I know, I know, I just-" __

Her eyes softened sympathetically. "I know."

They shared a quiet moment before Jack spoke again. _"___I've already cleared it so I can call in tomorrow; surprise him." __

She smiled. "He'll like that."

But his face turned grim. _"___How many?"__

Matty took a measured breath before answering. "Two dead, three injured."

Cursing, Jack closed his eyes.

"He did everything he could."

_"___Does __**__**he **__**__know that?" __

"He will,_"_ she promised. "We've already decided to be proactive and once he's feeling better, if he still doesn't remember, we'll tell him and reassure him-just in case the memories eventually start to filter in on their own and he keeps them to himself."

He nodded in approval. _"___I wish I were there." __

"So do we, Jack. But you're where you need to be."

_"___Am I?" __

"****Yes****. This is your way of keeping them safe."

Closing his eyes, he leaned forward on his elbows and scrubbed his hands down his face. She could see that he was exhausted. She could see that he was having trouble reining in his emotions. Face still resting in his hands, "__I know why Mac's out,"__ he cleared his throat, and leaning back in his seat, gestured behind her again, _"___but are Riley and Bozer burnin' the candle at both ends, or something?" __

"What can I say, it takes a village to raise a MacGyver."

He snorted. _"___Don't I know it. But he's worth it. There's nothing I wouldn't do for that kid," __he said seriously. _"___For any of them."__

"And __they know__ it, Jack."

He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it instead as his eyes fixed on his family. MacGyver had curled up into an impossibly small ball and slid down into Bozer's lap; who had his arm draped over his shoulder. When Riley's pillow (Mac's shoulder) had moved, she ended up smashed between him and the back of the couch. Her arm was over his waist.

"Some puppy pile," Matty commented fondly.

"__Yeah__." Jack laughed despite the tears in his eyes. _"___The best." __Then hesitating, he swallowed. "__Hey, uh, ….after tomorrow I might not be able to call in for awhile…." __

She took a breath, but no words would come out. None that would lessen the impact of what she thought he was implying. He had already told her that he made arrangements for her to be notified in the event that something happened to him. He wanted her to be the one to…to… "Jack-"

Someone called for him off screen. He gestured for them to wait a moment before turning back to her. _"___Yeah, so, uh, anyway, at my apartment there's an Army hoodie that Mac…"__

He trailed off when she lifted two items from the bag she brought in. It was his Dallas snuggie and his Army hoodie. She knew that MacGyver had "stolen" the hoodie on more than one occasion. It was too big for him, but she had a feeling it brought him a level of comfort that he'd never admit to ever needing. And as for the snuggie…well, they've all been guilty of stealing that one from time to time.

The tears returned, but so did the smile. _"___You're the best, boss lady."__

"I'll take care of the pups. You take care of __you__, Jack."

He nodded, but when he moved to end the call, she added, _"_And, Dalton," she put every ounce of authority into her next words, making it clear that it was nothing less than an order, "I'll see you soon."

He gave her a long, hard look. _"___Yes, ma'am__."

As he ended the call, she swore she saw a little bit of sadness in his eyes, but there was also determination there…and __that__ is what would get him home. Taking a deep breath, she turned to her sleeping charges. Until then, they would lean on each other.

That's what wolf packs did, after all.


End file.
